[BANGKOK] Thailand's private consumption and private investment rose from the previous month, central bank indexes showed on Thursday, indicating economic recovery is gaining more traction.

The Bank of Thailand's (BOT) private consumption index for July rose 0.7 per cent from the previous month, when it had risen 0.2 per cent.

The index for private investment was up 0.9 per cent in July from June, when it had declined 0.4 per cent.

The BOT said there was a current account surplus of US$2.77 billion in July after a US$4.28 billion surplus in June.

Exports, based on financial settlements, rose 8 per cent in July from a year earlier, the central bank said.

A recovery in exports, a traditional key growth driver, is a boost to South-east Asia's second-largest economy, whose growth still lags its regional peers.

The BOT has forecast economic growth of 3.5 per cent this year, with exports rising 5 per cent. It next updates them next month. The economy grew 3.2 per cent last year.

REUTERS